By LARRY LANGE, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, March 15, 2009

Question: Alex Zankich said some Seattle parking machines take a limited number of coins and wondered if there's an official limit or if this is a malfunction.

"I've noticed when using small, almost otherwise useless, change such as nickels and dimes ... that at some point well before the posted time maximum, the coin acceptor door locks up and won't accept more change. Using only nickels and dimes at the new hourly rate, I am lucky to get 35-45 minutes of time before the machine won't accept any more change, even though I want to park for the full allowed time. Is this just a glitch in some machines, or a systemwide problem? Didn't anyone at the city test this before imposing the new rates on us? Doesn't the city want my money or are they too good for small change?"

Answer: The city uses the machine manufacturer's recommended setting of a maximum of 25 coins per transaction before closing the coin slot, said Mike Estey, the city's parking operations manager. "The city uses the 25-coin limit to protect the purchaser by ensuring that the machine will be able to retrieve and return a coin payment if the purchaser decides to cancel the parking purchase," he said.

Question:Fred Kassab understands why Pike Place, at the famous Market, is open to traffic early or late in the day for deliveries and setup work at vendor stands. But "during the rest of the day, the cars are at a standstill in gridlock, while pedestrians weave in and out of them. Has the idea of having Pike Place 'pedestrian only' ever been considered during that time?" he asked.

If that's not possible, he wondered, why aren't there parking meters or kiosks on the short street? "It seems like they could generate needed dollars for the city at Seattle's number one tourist attraction." Also, parking is mostly restricted on the east side of the street, "but it appears that it's being used by anyone as regular parking. I've never seen a parking enforcement officer anywhere on Pike Place and I don't believe I've ever seen a ticket on a windshield on either the east side or west side of Pike Place. Is it my imagination, or is parking not being enforced there?"

Answer: Seattle traffic engineer Eric Widstrand notes that Pike Place is closed to vehicles on "Summer Sundays" from June through September so pedestrians and bicyclists can enjoy the Market. He said the city is aware of the issue and has talked with Market-area merchants about removing vehicle traffic from the street more often "but has been unsuccessful in gaining the required support. We are hoping to start discussions again with the Pike Place Market and the Market-area merchants on this issue."

"Pedestrian zones require that local access and circulation be accommodated elsewhere when a street segment is closed to vehicles," he said. "Unfortunately, Pike Place is unique in that it is the only street where vehicles can gain access to both the neighborhood (Pike Place Market) for deliveries and to businesses which are located directly across the street from the Market."

City officials couldn't remember why parking meters weren't put on Pike Place. Estey said there's no immediate plan to install them, though "the Market area remains on our list as an area that we would consider addressing if we had available inventory of pay stations to do so."

Wayne McCann, Seattle police operations manager, said parking officers "regularly enforce the (rules at the) Market as part of our larger enforcement strategy" and there's no hands-off policy. The Market is part of a much larger area that officers cover, he said.

EASTLAKE/RED ROBIN REDUX. Two weeks ago this column carried a question about the dangers of left turns from Eastlake Avenue East onto Fuhrman Avenue East and into the Red Robin parking lot in the Eastlake neighborhood. Reader Cathy Bossett said turns into Red Robin often create backups and asked if the city would put a curb in the street to prevent unsafe left turns. The city responded that it checked signal operations and accident history at the intersection and observed conditions "with particular focus on the Red Robin driveway," but it "did not find the conditions described by the reader."

That provoked more from other readers. "Someone has their head in the sand!" said Jim Lunz. "The four drivers in our family have all been caught in the northbound lane of Eastlake while turning to Fuhrman from the southbound lane. It is not the signal -- it is the cars stopping to turn left into the Red Robin! What did Eric find?"

And a woman caller who didn't give her name left a voicemail message saying she's been caught in backed-up traffic at the intersection "many times when people are turning left into the Red Robin and you are stuck in moving traffic where you have to honk the horn at people to keep moving because there's people behind ... with cars coming at them. So he's wrong."

Answer: Widstrand said his staff checked into the question in the usual way but "will perform another review and observe the location again during peak periods from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. If this is occurring at a different time of day, we would appreciate it if the reader could let us know. After further observation and analysis, we can provide a follow-up report."